Likewise, our second mega project at Yibal Khuff is continuing apace. When fully completed in 2020, this will not only help bolster PDO’s future oil production, but also deliver associated gas for power generation and enhanced oil recovery operations.

Our Gas Exploration team continues to drive early monetisation with notable projects including Mabrouk phase 3 on stream next year, Tayseer (A1C), with the early development facility on stream in 2019 and the Khulud tight gas project due in Q4 2019.

We continue to push forward with low unit technical cost developments, such as Mashari (on stream this year), Mabrouk North East (2018), Tawf Dahm (2020) and Burhaan North (2023).

What can we expect in the future?

In the near-term, you can expect PDO to stay the course on our key business activities and to continue to identify savings and cost reductions while delivering growth, excellence and sustainable value creation for Oman and our shareholders as we weather the country’s economic storm.

We will continue to ensure reserves and contingent resource replacement ratios are above one (one new barrel explored/ developed for every barrel produced) but we will also begin the transition to becoming a fully fledged energy and water management company with a greater focus on renewables, especially solar.

At the same time, as a signatory to the World Bank Zero Flaring by 2030 initiative, we are working hard towards a goal of zero routine flaring well before the target year and are seeking technology partners to help in that process.

You will see PDO aiming to leverage its expertise beyond Block 6 across both Oman and regionally in areas such as Lean, enhanced oil recovery, engineering and design and well, reservoir and facilities management.

New technology – including digitisation, Big Data, analytics, artificial intelligence – is a key enabler to the Company to sustain and improve our operations in a cost-effective manner. I confidently predict it will also drive a step change in safer and more efficient production processes.

Last but not least, the roll-out of sustainable and diversified In-Country Value programmes and initiatives will continue to ensure Omani employment and skills levels are raised, both in the oil and gas sector and beyond our natural boundaries in other industries.

We will also ramp up our support for Omani entrepreneurs to boost the Sultanate’s SME sector and help spur the greater diversification of the national economy through the Government’s excellent Tanfeedh initiative.

Notwithstanding the daunting challenges, PDO is looking forward to 2018 and to making our mark, by doing, by learning, by adapting and consistently striving to exceed societal expectations.

Through all this change, one theme remains constant – the country can rest assured that everyone at PDO remains ready and proud to serve Oman to the best of their ability.

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